the fbi the information they had regarding the mother and the son and their views on the mother's radicalization and the son's radicalization. it would have dramatically changeded investigation. >> where is the tipping point on syria? pressure increases on president obama to take action. >> the world is watching, we've got 70,000 dead people in that part of the world as a result of bashar al assad. we as america have never let something like that happen before. we've taken action. >> more than just syria, iran is playing attention to this, north korea is paying attention to this. >> but even john mccain is raising the caution flag on u.s. military action. >> the worst thing that the united states could do right now is put boots on the ground in syria. that would, that would turn the people against us. >> and a bold and brave move today by nba center, jason collins. plus and hollywood on the

potomac, president obama upstages conan, making fun of the media and himself. >> i understand second term, need a burst of new energy. try some new things and my team and i talked about it. we're willing to try anything, we borrowed one of michelle's tricks -- >> it's a look. good day, i'm "andrea mitchell reports" in washington. investigators are now learning more about discussions between tamerlan tsarnaev and his mother claimed by the russians as some lawmakers aren't ready to close the door on the possibility that the tsarnaev brothers had outside help building their bombs. nbc justice correspondent pete williams is catching up with us on all of this today. pete, first of all, the charge that the russians actually had eavesdropped on the mother and

son back in 2011 and didn't share it with the fbi or the c.i.a. when they were asking for u.s. help. that would have made a difference if this did exist and they had shared that information. wouldn't the fbi have taken it a step further? >> two things about that, andrea. number one is u.s. officials do confirm that the russians now say they were, remember they were wiretapping the mother. who was overseas at the time. not targeting the son, but of course that would have picked up her conversations with her son. as to whether -- and what i'm told is that will was a general discussion of jihad. but remember what the russians were worried about, the context is they wanted the fbi to give them information on him. because they knew he was coming to russia so they were saying to the fbi, is there any reason we should be worried about him coming over here. as to whether it would have made a difference, certainly there some people who say it might have. there are other people in law enforcement who say even if we had known that his mother used the word "jihad" in general it may not have elevated the

investigation. what i'm told is that the russians gave a sort of generalized summary of what the mother's views were. saying that the mother and the son may have become radicalized. they were talking around it. the people i've talked to say it's not surprising that the russians didn't give excerpts from the wiretaps. they say if we were sending intelligence taskings to the russians, we probably wouldn't give them excerpts of our fisa warth pick-ups either. >> we rarely share that kind of sources and methods with foreign services, nor they with us and especially the russians with whom there's been an edgy at best relationship. one other factor here is that will was some criticism from peter king and others this weekend, that the fbi did not share information on this very preliminary investigation of tamerlan with the boston joint task force, with local authorities. again, that would be the fbi's responsibility we didn't have enough to go with. to share any information on it.

is that basically what they're saying? >> yes. my rec ligs of that is that they did get this tasking for a low-level threat assessment. there were members of a joint task force in boston who actually did the initial investigation with tamerlan. they were aware of it. >> i want to ask you about the ricin investigation, because after arresting the wrong guy a week ago, they say they have the right person, j. everett dutsche. this is one of the most complicated investigations, the letters to the mississippi judge and of course, president obama. >> two of those letters never got to their destination. the one to the white house and the one to the senate never got there. but the one to the justice of the peace in mississippi did go there.

and james dutchky, authorities have not unsealed the details of the case. but what we were told is that while, it's all about the searches here. that initially they thought that the first suspect, curtis, was in fact the letter-writer because the letters that accompanied the ricin in these three letters to the three public officials, had phrases very similar to ones he had used and members of congress in his online posting. now the theory is that the suspect they've arrested now was merely copying what was publicly available from cust is. they also say that a search of dutschke's house did turn up signs of ricin so now they're focusing air tension on him. >> even though there's strange quirks, he was aapparently also an impersonator? fill in that gap. >> a senior law enforcement -- we knew that curtis that had been arrested in the first time

around, was an elvis impersonator what i'm told by a law enforcement official today is that dutscke is a wayne newton impersonator. that's the contention of someone who i believe is familiar with the case. >> this is a really serious charge and the penalties, if convicted and he has denied it. but the penalties if convicted are very, very serious indeed. thank you very much, pete williams. and in the new "sports illustrated" cover story today, nba veteran, jason collins, has announced he is gay. he is the first currently active male pro athlete in the united states to come out. collins' decision is being praised by former president bill clinton. who says in a statement, i have known jason collins since he was chelsea's classmate and friend at stanford. jason's announcement today is an important moment for professional sports and in the history of the lgbt community. it is also the straightforward statement of a good man who wants no more than what so many of us seek, to be able to be who

we are, to do our work, to build families and to contribute to our communities. i have the full quote here as we introduce chuck todd and ruth marcus. is that he wants to be who he knows he is and to you know live an open life. >> can we just, chris donovan, the incredible researcher over at "meet the press," butt this in an email to a bunch of us internally. think about the last year since joe biden said what he said on "meet the press." joe biden comes out for same-sex marriage on "meet the press." it happens in may. to the surprise at the time of the president. within a week, the president does the same thing. this is may 2012. the poll numbers have been shifting very closely and then you see the sort of ten-point swing as things go. you see every single same-sex referendum that used to basically, the pro same-sex marriage side used to be

defeated. they succeeded beat back or legislatively upheld the ledge slays on four states. we've had the supreme court thing. it is just, a remarkable, in the last, just in the less than a year, just the movement of culture, the political class on this. and then all of a sudden we have the first team sports athlete. it is significant, it's the team sports, one of the four major sports, it's stunning. >> let me just -- just posit this, though. it is decades since billie jean king and mart tina navratilova. >> individual sports. >> lesbians are different from gay men because i'm not sure if i can talk about this on national television. but men are more comfortable with that notion. women are more comfortable with that notion and there is some -- >> less threatening. >> there's been more homophobia. >> thank you. >> homophobia among men, generically, the stereotype. >> fan base. >> men are more homophobic.

>> you look at the last year and point accurately to the remarkable transformation that we've seen. the subject of same-sex marriage. but i have to say, i heard this news this morning and i thought, really? the first? so -- >> it feels behind. >> great for him. you sports nuts are such lagging indicators. >> the sports world was the leading indicator. it moved society on integration. the sports world brought mainstreamed african-americans before society did. before our government did. >> but as we were discussing on -- >> on gay issues. on gay issues. >> the sports world was way behind the military -- >> on gay issues the sports world has been way behind. >> for the reasons we just discussed. >> and chelsea clinton on her facebook statement said i'm very proud of my friend jason collins for having the strength and courage to become the first openly gay athlete in the nba. his decision marks an important

moment for professional sports and for our country. i echo what my father said in his statement and similar lay hope that everyone, particularly jason's colleagues in the nba, the mediand his many fans extend to him the support and respect he has earned. >> this is a step. some would say way behind the rest of society. where most american families are. just given the data that we all know. most of us and our families have been living with this for generations. >> we probably suspected there were gay male athletes. i'm looking forward to an end of firsts. we don't have to say the first woman elected statewide or the first openly gay senator or the first african-american whatever. and the end of firsts, the era of the end of firsts is approaching. that will be a nice thing. >> now let's talk about the nerd prom. about the dinner this weekend. because we all had varying degrees of involvement.

we're all nerds. but the president did seem so at ease with himself in the second term. having been re-elected. he could joke about things that were even a little bit outside the comfort zone before. and but this is the president's advice to republicans -- >> trying to get -- >> of course, even after i've done all of this some folks still don't think i spend enough time with congress. why don't you get a drink with mitch mcconnell, they ask. really? why don't you get a drink with mitch mcconnell. >> we'll see more of this a little bit later in the program. but he's making it very clear -- chuck, how he feels about mitch mcconnell. >> you know, look, it was a comedic, most of it was comedic. but even at the end, he was all of his barbs were, were at the political media class. he's upset. he's upset at the way that

they've, that we, he believes that we cover the back and forth between him and congress. he doesn't like the i call it the buzzfy indication of the media. where the smallest things get blown out of proportion and everything about his remarks seemed aimed at that, ruth, i thought. >> and sometimes a joke is just a joke. but sometimes a joke shows your real feelings. these are his real feelings. he doesn't really want to have a drink with mitch mcconnell. >> or probably with the white house correspondents association for that malter. >> i think that's right, too. >> tebow gone. >> third-string quarterback for a team that didn't make the playoffs. i don't understand why it's news. it's not news. i hope tim tebow gets one more chance. the jets didn't give him a real chance and that's true. >> good luck to geno smith. thank you very much chuck todd and ruth marcus. six months after superstorm sandy. residents still picking up the pieces, we take you live to hard

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syrian television is reporting that the regime's prime minister survived an apparent assassination attempt in damascus after a car bomb exploded at a busy intersection. the prime minister's body guard was killed in the blast it comes amid debate in washington over how to respond to syria's possible use of chemical weapons. senator lindsay graham is among

republicans calling for a military response. >> one way you can stop the syrian air force from flying is to bomb the syrian air bases with cruise missiles, you don't need to go deep into syria to do that. >> joining me is former u.s. ambassador and nbc news middle east diplomacy analyst dennis ross. it's a tough monday here today, dennis, bear with me. so first of all, the red line. the president said it several times. was that a mistake, to establish a red line you're not prepared to liver odeliver on? >> i don't think once you establish you're outlining a red line, by definition you're prepared to do something about it there's a history with red lines. whenever you establish a red line, understand it has two different dimensions to it. one is you're implying that anything short of it won't trigger action by you, but you're also saying if that's crossed, you will absolutely do something. so i do think the president is in a position where he has to

find a way to cross the threshold now because even if we can't corroborate specifically exactly what's been done by the syrians, we're saying that we have varying degrees of confidence that they've used chemical weapons. so that does cross the red line. >> they seem to be really very carefully, though, falling all over themselves, if you will, to say well we're not really sure of the chain of custody and the who, what, when and why and don't forget the legacy of the bush years and wmd. so they seem to be really trying to buy themselves some dime before they do what they're going to have to do. >> i think there is an effort to buy some time. but there's a difference between trying to buy time and not doing something. buying time to position yourself so you do something that makes sense, that's logical. buying time as a way of avoiding action that would be problematic. >> so what can they do? >> well, they have different choices. one way to cross the threshold would be to provide lethal

assistance. another way to cross the threshold would be to offer more protection by the syrian public by doing no fly. i've publicly said there are no fly zones on the cheap. you can use the nine nato patriot batteries along the turkish/syrian border and declare in a any plane flying within 50 miles of that border will be deemed to have hostile intent. you create a safe haven that would include covering aleppo, the largest city in syria. can you use standoff systems, lindsay graham was saying you could as cruise missiles to attack the bases. can you do something very different. you could declare that any syrian plane that's flying will be deemed to be threatening the public. and you will standoff capabilities, you can use carriers, carrier planes using what are air-to-air missiles. you never have to penetrate syrian air space. if you declare that, the syrians, if they tested it and began to lose planes and they don't have a lot of planes right now, given attrition. >> they have air defenses. >> the air defenses aren't going

to be able to engage our planes from a distance. our planes would be doing it from a standoff distance. you wouldn't have to penetrate the air space, you could do it from the outside. the fact is that would be again a kind of no-fly on the cheap. >> there's a reluctance to arm the opposition because of the problems we're now experiencing with the qataris and other who is are arming groups that clearly have al qaeda connections. >> there's no doubt about that. there's always been a concern about if you give arms, you can't be certain about where the arms end up and who they get used against. it's a completely legitimate concern. by the same token. you have a balance of forces among the opposition. if the islamists are the only ones who are getting arms and money. then by definition, they're the ones more likely to emerge. you have to decide are you going to try to influence the balance of forces, balance of power among the opposition groups? do you want to have influence on the landscape that emerges in syria or not? if you're not prepared to provide lethal assistance, you're reducing your potential of influence. if you do provide protection for the syrian public by doing

something with regard to no-fly, that may allow you to have some influence. and i think we certainly want to have some influence on the outcome in syria. >> bottom line in a couple of seconds, which of those options would you take? or would you take both? the no-fly zone on the cheap, and arming rebel groups? >> the first thing i would do is i would address the syrian public, the need to protect them and i would focus more on standoff capabilities for no-fly. >> thank you very much. dennis ross. president obama had plenty of barbs for the press and as well for himself on saturday night's so-called nerd prom and he also had praise for one of our own, just watch. >> when their communities and the wider world needed them most, they were there. making sense of events that might at first blush seem beyond our comprehension. that's what great journalism is and that's what great journalists do. and that's why for example, pete williams new nickname around the nbc news room is big papi.

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to grow or start your business visit thenewny.com welcome back, joining me is david sanger, chief washington correspondent for "the new york times" and the author of "the new york times" bestseller, "confront and conceal." surprising use of american power now out in paperback. congratulations to you. david you're just back from the middle east, so you have fresh reporting on the chemical weapons issue and what the israelis were saying as well from their intelligence, now you've got israeli intelligence, british and french out in front of the u.s. consensus, the consensus here is well, not so sure, it could have been the regime, we think it was probably the he regime because we don't think that the opposition groups have them. but without a chain of custody, we're not going to go further. >> that's right. and i think what's going on andrea here is everybody is working from the same set of forensic evidence. so they know -- >> blood samples and so forth. >> so they know that sarin gas

was used. the question was it used deliberately or not. i was in israel and was there the day that the israeli military intelligence analysts made a very detailed power-point presentation that laid out the -- >> it was just after chuck hagel had lifted off. he been briefed hours -- differently and there was a flurry of conversations. kerry was headed to nato, he spoke from the plane, spoke to netenyahu. >> you said -- >> he was speaking for the idf, he was speaking for the israeli defense force. it is their view, when i went on to others in the israeli government, they didn't dispute the facts. they thought that his timing was terrible because he had spoken in a way that they feared would make the president, president obama feel jammed. that the israelis were trying to push them into action. in fact, while the israelis would like the united states to do something about syria and it's got all the complications

you just discussed with dennis ross, they really want to save american firepower for what they think is a much bigger problem. >> iran. >> yeah, that's it. they didn't want to push too hard on this. and on the findings. the one difference i noticed. the israelis believe that the chemical weapons were used as a deliberate test by bashar al assad to see how the west would react. i think the americans are not convinced of what the intent was. >> and if it is a deliberate test, the american reaction is certainly some would say weak. or deliberative, depending on your point of view. the bottom line is that they've got plenty, the largest stockpiles of chemical weapons that we know. they've got scuds that can reach tel aviv or american bases, nato bases. turkey is very engaged here and the u.s. has to do something, says dennis ross. >> the u.s. has to do something. but as mr. ross indicated, the opportunities to go in on the ground get very complicated very

fast. and remember, removing chemical weapons is in many ways, a lot more complicated than removing nuclear weapons. we've had lots of states that we've helped get rid of nuclear weapons and including the former soviet republics, you know, put them on an airplane, you lift them off and deal with them. chemical weapons can leak, if you bomb the sites, it can turn out to cause exactly the disaster you're trying to avoid. so it's very messy business. remember, we had a big stockpile, as the united states, of chemical weapons, it's taken decades, really to burn it all off. >> david sanger, and the new book -- the book in paperback is confront and conceal. congratulations to you. you certainly caused a lot of stir on that. thank you. and got a lot of attention for a lot of good reasons. meanwhile, rescue workers in bangladesh say they've given up hope for finding more survivors in last week's building collapse. 38 0 people were killed when the

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a suite of online tools that lets you turn insight into action. we still have tens of thousands of families that aren't back in their homes. so job one is to get the grant program going which allows them to rebuild, elevate their homes. second is for businesses, for the businesses that still haven't reopened to give them business grants and get them reopened. >> governor chris christie on "morning joe," talking about the huge task of rebuilding after superstorm sandy. in new york and new jersey, the states hit hardest by the superstorm, 75,000 homes sustained damage, half a million people applying for federal aid. nbc's rehema ellis is in bel harbor new york. and ann thompson to talk about

the larger issue. first to you, rehema. first what you found, the level of disrepair, the frustration of the residents? >> well, it's a bit of all of that andrea, it's really sort of a patchwork recovery effort. if you look behind me, you can see some of the houses that look like nothing has been going on for weeks. and in fact, one of the homeowners told me that practically nothing has been going on. he's been one of the lucky few to have home insurance and flood insurance, because his first floor's basement was completely wiped out by the storm. but it is a patchwork effort. he says getting his place up to speed again and a place that they can live in again. is going to take some time. his name is jerry hanukkah and list ton his story. >> the entire basement was wiped out. and the first half, the front half of the first floor. the most amazing thing was, is that the waves and concrete this

thick and this big was lifted by the waves and thrown up through the porch, through the front window. we had a piece of sidewalk about this big that went halfway into the house, into the kitchen. >> just looking at that -- >> it came from, andrea, it came from a section along the beach here. it was the storm walk, it's gone. there's just no evidence of it except on the side of jerry's house now. >> but rehema, it's six months. how could there be so little reconstruction in at least in that part of the neighborhood there? i mean it's -- it's still devastated. >> that's what a lot of people are asking that question. i have to say to you, andrea, if you go a few streets up, the businesses are operating again, when i was here six months ago, it was like a ghost town. you couldn't find a restaurant. you couldn't find a deli. the banks were closed.

everything was shut down. but it is operating up there again. this is very slow in terms of recovery. but there are some people who are in their homes, there's a family just three doors back. they are able to move in. but it is not the same story for everyone. andrea? >> and clearly, miserable weather on this six-month anniversary, thank you, rehema for being there for us. and ann thompson, were you out there, you've been back repeatedly to the neighborhoods. you were also looking at the coastline and the issue of whether people can continue to live in these areas that are so exposed. >> well and one of the things that's making that so difficult, andrea, one of the reasons we have to talk about it is because of rising sea levels. around the country we've seen about an eight-inch increase in sea level rise over the last century and new york city it was nearly a foot. and what that man was talking about, that storm surge is so much more powerful. and tonight we're going to introduce you to a woman named

me linda who found out just what storm surge can do. she lives in cape cod. >> the end came so quickly and even the old timers around here were stunned by it. and part of that was not only the ferocity of those two storms. but the duration of them. and for three days with each storm and they were a month apart, the whole coast got pounded. and never had a chance to kind of take a breath and let the sands settle a little bit and everything. so this was the fastest anybody around here has ever seen things go. >> those two storms ate away the foundation on which her house was built. and as a result, her house is now uninhabitable and that's not because of a superstorm, but just two winter storms that sat off the coast of cape cod and ate away her land. at one time, andrea, she had an acre of land there on the

atlantic owe shceaocean. she now has a sliver. it changed that fast in a 15-year period. >> ann thompson, and it's only going to get worse as climate change and the rising levels, sea levels increase. thank you very much. thanks for your reporting and our thanks to rehema ellis. in bel haven. president obama had a few ideas saturday night for republicans who are trying to figure out a way back from the wilderness after the election. >> i know republicans are still sorting out what happened in 2012. but one thing they all agree on is they need to do better job reaching out to minorities. and look, call me self-centered, but i can think of one minority they could start with. hello! >> david axelrod is a senior political analyst for msnbc and formerly the senior adviser to

president obama at the white house and during both of his campaigns. david, good to see you. we were enjoying the humor on saturday night. the president and conan both in rare form. the president did seem to me to be liberated, if you will, by his re-election. because he touched on a number of subjects that might not have been that comfortable in the past. >> well i think he, there's no doubt that winning re-election has a liberating effect. but you know he's always been, the art of these things is self--effacing humor. he's always done that very, very well. you know, he a few jabs here and there that maybe were a bit more pointed than they would have been in the past. but you know, the whole exercise i think is a bit of a catharsis for a president, a chance to have a little fun at his own expense and other people's expense. as i said, he's done this now, he's becoming a veteran of these. and he, he does it well. >> he does it well indeed. his timing, his comedic timing.

a number of the pros, amy poehler and others were commenting on how well he does. but there's some really serious, there's a reason why he needs to sort of let that pressure off. there's some really serious challenges now. syria among them. when he faces a decision as to whether to first mention the red line, which has now put him in a bit of a box because now he's got to do something. projecting weakness to iran, to north korea, to other, others trying to get either nuclear power or already having nuclear power. when he says that that is a red line and a game-changer, doesn't he now have to change the game? >> yeah. but you know, you mentioned he has a lot of serious problems, you know one thing you learn when you work in the white house is, nothing comes to the president's desk that isn't impossible. all the easy stuff gets taken care of elsewhere. this is a particularly thorny problem. because, yes, on the one hand, he made that declaration and he has to find a way to fulfill it. on the other hand, for all the

reasons that your previous guest stated, it is a fraught situation. it's fraught because of the nature of the rebellion there and the composition of the, of the rebels. and it's fraught because of the syrian defenses. so i'm sure what's going on now is not just that they're trying to ascertain the nature of the use of those chemical weapons. but the appropriate response to it. and it's a complicated situation. >> they've always had plans on the shelf, military plans. but we've been talking to people who say they are stepping that up. >> well i'm sure that that's true. you know, but again, there's so much that has to be taken into consideration. in terms of what is feasible. and also, who you're assisting in the process. there was some good reporting done over the weekend on the nature of the, the rebels in syria and the infiltration of al

qaeda and what you don't want to do is strengthen your, strengthen your enemies. on the other hand, there's tremendous suffering going on there and now with the introduction of chemical weapons as you point out, the president, he made a declaration and the u.s. has to act on it. so i think there's an awful lot of, awful lot of conversation going on right now as to just what the right proportion of response is. >> and on, on domestic issues, joe manchin and others were saying over the weekend that they're going to make another run at guns. do you think, what about the timing? do you think this is something they should try, he and pat toomey, his republican colleague should dry to do now? or wait until later in the re-election cycle when there's perhaps less pressure after the primaries on republicans? >> i think that that's a very good point. you know, i suspect that there are some particularly on the republican side who might be more receptive to the background

check proposal. after the filing deadlines pass for their primary campaigns. because they're always looking or their right shoulder, worried about a challenge and an nra-inspired challenge in this case. so you know, it seems to me that a better time to raise this issue would be next spring, after those filing deadlines close. but i don't know what information senator manchin has that would encourage him to think that a quick strike would be better. i would think that giving it a little bit of time would be the best thing to do and it's important to remember, andrea, that you know, the brady law, you remember this, you were covering some of this, the brady law had, i think seven votes before it ultimately became law. some of these things take years to accomplish. and while you know, when you watch the news and you see grieving parents, not just the newtown parents, but in cities like chicago and other cities every night you can see a parent

grieving the loss of a child. it's hard to be patient. but the nature of the process is it takes time. and i would think that by next spring, you might have another opportunity here to move on this, the other thing i would say is there's been an awful lot of criticism of those democrats who didn't vote for most democrats did for that didn't. but if i'm sitting in their shoes and i see that we can't, you can't get to 60 votes, do you want to cast that vote in a losing cause? i would think some of those democrats might be willing to reconsider. if they thought the law had a chance to pass. >> david axelrod, thank you very much. our msnbc analyst and former obama white house top adviser. we'll be right back. he's not gou some labradoodle, he's gonna sell you tropical fish! he's got salt water tanks, fresh water tanks, brackish tanks, tanks you can't even fathom. that fish?! no you're not ready for that fish.

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with your blessing dedicate ourselves to the great task before us. to heal, to rebuild, and to serve once again as a shining city on the hill. [ speaking foreign language ] >> that was human rights activist and new england interfaith council chair nasor wadadi at the boston memorial service attended by president obama, comforting the victims and telling the nation that the deadly attacks have brought the entire country together. and nasr joins me now. >> i wanted to show you in this period of healing, a comment over the weekend of peter king on "meet the press." who is talking about the kind of surveillance he believes needs to be done, including in the muslim community. >> most it was was outstanding people. but the threat is coming from the muslim community. yesterday tom friedman who is

serum sl no conservative said we must ask a question only muslims can answer, what is going on in your community that a critical number of your youth believes that every american military action in the middle east justify as violent response? it's coming from the community. >> what would you say to congressman king? >> i would say to congressman king that the shared diversity of the muslim community and the lack of understanding of that diversity is what produced some of the failed outreach efforts and understanding of what's going on in the community over the last decade. and i would tell him that actually the muslim community, if approached and engaged the right way would be the first line of defense against terrorism. and i would caution here that it's very important to be able to discuss these problems without getting bogged down into pc culture. but that at the same time we have to be very careful about the tone and the language that we use. because the last time across the world leaders went for collective assigning collective

guilt that didn't end up exactly very well for everybody. do not paint all muslims as potential terrorists. that is self-defeating and is not exactly the way we do things here in america. >> we know that at his mosque, at his neighborhood mosque that tamerlan twice spoke out in ways that were upsetting to some of his fellow congress gants. would that be enough for is that the kind of open debate that we value here in the states. >> i think in the case of tamerlan and his brother we have to understand the process by which these two people became radicalized. and the fact of the matter is that the, there's been a big taboo in the last ten years, within the muslim community to talk about radicalization. and unfortunately, that has been

unhelpful for everybody involved. and i think that it's very important for us, as a community to be able to confront and talk openly about this problem. without calling people calling people names like racists. at the same time i think that there is clearly an issue here that needs a lot more scrutiny. i think that a lot of americans do not know and frankly have not been doing a great service by muslim leaders. and understanding the process by which these communities work. there has been a massive failure over the past decade. and unfortunately i'm not seeing the comments by congressman king or others on that resolving the problem. we need to confront the problem of radicalization heads on rather than sweeping it under

the rug. >> thank you for everything you are doing in your community in reaching out. what political story will be making headlines in the next 24 hours is next. hoo-hoo hoo. sir... i'll get it together i promise... heeheehee. jimmy: ronny, how happy are folks who save hundreds of dollars switching to geico? ronny:i'd say happier than the pillsbury doughboy on his way to a baking convention. get happy. get geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more. [ agent smith ] i've found software that intrigues me. it appears it's an agent of good. ge has wired their medical hardware with innovative software to be in many places

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and which political stories will make headlines? a bunch of things going on in massachusetts. there is the primary for the senate nomination but you've got in south carolina mark sanford debating bush. >> it is going to be a great debate. imagine what the late night shows are going to be able to do with it. good for mark sanford to debate a live person and not the cut out of nancy pelosi. >> in the next few minutes we will have a new secretary of transportation from charlotte, north carolina. this will be after many complaints from the congressional black caucus and

other groups. >> i will miss ray lahood. i thought he was a good transportation secretary. >> the republican in the cabinet. >> he gave me a lecture about texting even when you are at stop lights that i am trying to take to heart. >> there are new studies showing that texas is more dan-- that texting is more dangerous than anything else. >> remember follow the show online and on twitter at mitchell reports and my colleague has a look at what is up next on "news nation." >> as you mentioned the president is set to nominate charlotte mayor anthony fox to head the transportation department. this will be the first african american nominated to the president's cabinet during the second term. we will have more on fox and his background. plus reaction to washington

wizards player jason collins becoming the nation's first openly gay athlete to play on a major sports team as an active player and come out. we will talk with the writer who worked with collins on the upcoming story. and what was behind the decision? it has something to do with the boston bombing attacks. and the closing arguments on the trial of abortion doctor accused of killing newborns. we will discuss why one man believes this case has not been covered more. are baked with brown rice and sweet potato! triscuit has a new snack? no way. way. and the worst part is they're delicious. mmm, you're right. maybe we should give other new things a chance. no way. way. [ male announcer ] we've taken 100% whole grain brown rice and wheat, delicious sweet potato, and savory red bean... and woven them into something unexpected. the new brown rice triscuit line; with sweet potato and red bean varieties.

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at constantcontact.com/try. i'm here in your home, having a pretty spectacular tuesday. ♪ but i don't notice the loose rug at the top of your stairs. and that's about to become an issue for me. ♪ and if you got the wrong home insurance coverage, my medical bills could get expensive. so get allstate. [ dennis ] good hands. good home. make sure you have the right home protection. talk to an allstate agent. "news nation" is following developing news out of the white house. the first african-american cabinet appointment. president obama will announce his nominee for secretary of transportation. he is mayor anthony fox of

charlotte, north carolina. if confirmed he will replace senator ray lahood. this comes at a time when members of the president's own party have criticized him for what they say is a lack of diversity. mayor foxx is an attorney whose work in the federal government. he was first elected mayor in 2009. he turns 42 tomorrow. this is a heck of a birthday present. the "new york times" says foxx was raised by a single mom and his grandparents. peter alexander joins us live with more. >> we will be seeing anthony foxx joining the president inside the white house for this announcement to be made today. this is significant for a variety of reasons not the least of which is that this is an